


The Road Not Taken

by Ravenia



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, F/M, Gen, Past Relationship(s), Romance, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-06-02 09:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6560656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenia/pseuds/Ravenia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somehow, she couldn’t help but feel that she had lived this before. Choose a side, and the other would fall. Armed with the gift of Sight and memories, the dragon princess takes a different path. The first step? She fakes her death at the Bottomless Canyon. [Time travel and old magic. Loosely based on Revelation with hints of Birthright and Conquest. Semi-AU.] 4/14/18 - RL kicked me in the butt. Currently refamiliarising myself with Fates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where It Diverges

**Author's Note:**

> So the Revelations path, while pretty okay, didn't do much for me though I did enjoy it. This is my twist on Revelations - how things could have gone, things like that. I will also be attempting to fill out the plot-holes and lore in the world of Fates, hence the semi-AU. Feedback is appreciated.

Long, slender fingers reached out to touch the surface of the mirror, gently trailing down as crimson eyes, flecked with rosy pink gazed at the reflection.

Silver white tresses tumbling down slim shoulders, lithe build protected by light platinum-coloured armour with patterns of onyx black, only a single thought flickered through the girl’s mind.

 _It was time_.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she mentally went through her checklist. After so many years, it was finally happening.

Zipping up her bag, the princess looked around the room with a sad, wistful smile before steeling herself.

There was no time for doubts now.

“Milady?”

“Jakob,” acknowledged Rena as she turned to see the face of her butler. He was the only one who knew what she had planned. “Is it time already?”

“Yes.”

It was time to go to the Bottomless Canyon.

She hoped Xander would remember to keep the promise.

* * *

**24 Hours Ago…**

_“My kingdom, my honor…All is lost.”_

_“Big brother, NO!”_

_“May we see each other…in the next life.”_

_A scream._

_Tears._

_Blood._

Rena bolted upright, heart hammering in her chest as she stifled her cries.

Not again…

This wasn’t the first time it had happened. The visions - well, memories - had started years ago. No one but Jakob knew about them. It was as if she had lived through them before, despite having never left Castle Krackenburg.

Then again, it wasn’t as if she was really from here.

Her mind drifted back to the first dream.

**[Flashback]**

_Darkness._

_A flash of white._

_“I should have known that the merging would have been an issue,” came a murmur._

_“Who are you?” Rena demanded, hiding her fear behind a mask. She was **not** going to let anyone intimidate her, dreams or not._

_“I mean you no harm,” placated the voice as a figure stepped out, emerging from the shadows._

_Rena’s eyes widened._

_It was a perfect mirror image of **her.** But older, with weary determination in her eyes, hair tied into a braid and attired in platinum white armour with a flowing blue cloak behind._

_“Don’t forget me.”_

_Another figure emerged and her jaw dropped. It was her again, but with the hair high up in a ponytail and dressed in onyx black armour and a tattered dark cloak flowing behind. Features steeled, eyes full of resolve and a wide smirk on her lips._

_“W…what’s going on?!”_

_“We are you. Specifically, we are two different versions of you,” said the white-armoured figure. “And we need you to listen. Can you do that?”_

_Slowly, Rena nodded._

_“First things first: Garon is not your – I mean, our,” she amended. “father. We were kidnapped from Hoshido as a child. Our mother is the Lady Mikoto, our adopted father the late King Sumeragi. Unfortunately, we do not know who our real father is.”_

_“There will come a time where you will have to choose between Hoshido and Nohr. In my universe, you sided with Hoshido,” spoke the braided female. “We won, but at a price. Xander and Elise were lost.”_

_“….what?” whispered Rena in disbelief._

_Xander and Elise…dead?_

_“In **my** world,” started the pony-tailed version of her. “You sided with Nohr. We eventually won, but the cost…was too high. Hundreds of innocents were senselessly cut down, and Ryoma and Takumi were sacrificed.”_

_She couldn’t help but flinch. Those names…they sounded familiar somehow._

_“We also discovered that the real Garon had been long gone. He was possessed by someone called Anankos,” grimly said the black-armoured version of her. “There’s a lot more to this war that we don’t know about. I have a feeling that someone’s behind this.”_

_“Whatever it is, both of us have been sent here to merge with you to find out the truth. With our combined experiences, we hope to save both Hoshido and Nohr without any of our families dying,” quietly said the braid-haired female._

_“Will you let us?”_

_Silence reigned for several moments._

_“When do we start?”_

**[Flashback end]**

The merging had taken several days, the memories almost a month as there were a lot to assimilate. It had been difficult for her to get used to everything, but she had managed.  The planning and changes had started then, with Jakob as her sole confidant. Though, the memories had resulted in her having constant nightmares – leading Xander, Leo, Camilla and Elise to worry when she locked herself up in her room for a week. It had also unlocked the gift of Sight within her.

Now here they were, three years later and less than a day left.

Rena sighed.

It seemed like sleep wasn’t going to come tonight.

She tossed off the covers, getting out of bed and walked towards the balcony. The familiar sound of a sword swinging through the air caught her attention, and a small smile instinctively spread across her lips when she saw Xander training. Pondering for a moment, the princess grabbed his gift from her desk drawer and made her way towards the grounds.

A few moments later, she stopped a few feet behind him and spoke.

“Can’t sleep?”

Rena grinned as he whipped his head around, surprise on his face.

“Rena?”

He quickly rearranged his expression into a more neutral one, “You should be sleeping.”

“So should you,” returned the dragon princess with a light poke at his chest. “It’s not like I can sleep anyway, tomorrow being my first mission and all.”

“Ah, yes...the Bottomless Canyon,” murmured the crown prince. “Worried, little princess?”

“Yes,” admitted Rena truthfully. She prayed that everything would go well tomorrow, though not in the way that Xander thought.

The prince ruffled her hair in a rare show of affection, “You will do fine, Rena.”

 “You can’t promise me that,” the princess smiled, sad and wistful. “No one can.”

Xander jerked his head in surprise, an almost stricken look coming to his face.

_Did she foresee her death?_

Oh, he knew. He knew alright. About her gift of Sight.

It had begun three years ago, when she had started having nightmares and often locked herself up in her room. During one of his rare three-day visits along with Elise and the others, they had all been startled by a scream.

Dashing into her room – ignoring Felicia’s protests, the siblings had been both numb in shock and horrified upon seeing her thrash about with her face contorted in pain. Jakob had been grimly attending to her, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Not even bothering to look, he had then promptly requested for her wrists to be held down to prevent her from thrashing about. Him and Leo had been the ones to do so then.

No one had left the room that night.

The next morning, when she had woken up and seen them, her expression had been first pleased, then confused, before settling on resigned. It had taken awhile for everyone to calm down before she started her explanation then.

**[Flashback]**

_“I’ve been having…dreams,” she started slowly. “Of what could be.”_

_“You’re talking about the future,” Leo said as he caught on. He had always been the quick one. “But that is impossible. No one has ever had the gift of Sight in our family.”_

_“Perhaps,” shrugged Rena. “But if you doubt me so…” She turned her gaze onto Xander and lifted a finger. “You were supposed to lead a troop through the Forlorn Forest but declined due to circumstances.”_

_Rena moved the finger towards Leo, “You will receive a mission from Father that requires your retainers, Niles and Odin.”_

_Silence._

_The siblings knew she had never left the castle. So how would she know the names of Leo's retainers?_

_“Shall I continue?”_

**[Flashback end]**

Suffice to say, it was another few minutes before all of them calmed down. Rena had made them promise to never reveal this to their father. When asked why, she had raised an eyebrow and smiled sadly.

_“You saw what happened to me. If he knew…” she trailed off._

Oh, they knew. How they knew. He would use her, force her to abuse and relentlessly use her gift.

And that wasn’t even taking the drain on her health into account.

Forcing himself back to reality, he started to speak.

“Little princess - ”

She placed a finger on his lips, cutting him off as she shook her head.

_Please, don’t say a word._

“I need to give you something,” murmured Rena as she pulled out a simple black pendant of the Dusk and Dawn Dragon being entwined from a pocket.

“I know you usually don’t wear jewelry, but I wanted to give you something to remember me by,” she said quietly.

A hundred questions whirled around in his mind as he silently took it, at a loss for words.

“I…I have some things for the others as well,” she said. “The place where the stars are.” A deep breath. “Please, make sure that they receive them.”

He swallowed, before nodding his head.

“Let’s make a promise,” suddenly said Rena, changing the subject.

He quashed down his emotional turmoil for the moment and looked at her questioningly.

“To always trust each other,” the princess clarified.

“I always do,” said Xander after a moment. “Always have, little princess. And always will.”

“...The same goes for me,” smiled Rena softly.

_Thank you._

A pause.

If anyone passed by a moment later, they would have seen the proud prince and the sheltered princess locked in an embrace.

If Xander felt the beginning of tears staining his clothes, he said nothing.

_I’m sorry._

* * *

**Present: Bottomless Canyon**

“So this is the Bottomless Canyon,” commented Rena as she eyed the imposing cliffs and the fortress amidst the blackened trees.

Inwardly, the princess went over her plan. The situation with Hans would be the first – he would die, one way or the other. The berserker was too dangerous to be let alive. The amount of innocent blood that he willingly and _eagerly_ stained his hands in…

 _‘Focus, Rena_ ,’ she reminded herself, taking a deep breath.

First things first… She couldn’t afford for him to fall into Valla. Naga knew what would happen if Anankos possessed the murdering dastard, so...the defensive approach it was.

“Who goes there?!” demanded an unfamiliar voice that captured all their attention.

It was a Hoshidan ninja, the fort commander that she had seen in her dream several times. Surrounded by his troops, all of them were poised to strike.

_Showtime._

“We’re a group of - ” started the dragon princess and her eyes narrowed as Hans lifted his axe.

 _Bingo_.

“Bah! Less talking, more fighting!” roared the berserker as he made to slam his axe down on one of the Hoshidan soldiers.

_Clang._

Rena snarled as she parried the axe and slammed her foot into his stomach, sending him to the ground.

Silence.

“Did I, or did I not give you any orders?” An icy glare etched itself on her face as her soft voice effortlessly cut through the silence, blade pointed at his throat.

“You? I take no orders you, _wench,_ ” mocked Hans.

A blur.

_Thud._

Crimson started trickling down one of his shoulders, causing the berserker to freeze for the moment.

“My apologies, milady. It seems that I slipped,” came Jakob’s voice calmly, though if one looked closely, they would see fury in his eyes.

 Rena merely nodded in acknowledgement, inwardly amused.

“You…the both of you… Disobeying the king? Ha! You’re a fool!” laughed the berserker as he got up, lifting his heavy axe.

“You will not kill innocents on my watch,” hissed the princess as she slid into a battle stance. “I have seen your records. Did you not think that I wouldn’t research you?”

Her smirk widened at his shock.

“Oh yes. I know. Killing children, families – Hoshido, Nohr – wherever they were from, you didn’t care. You _murdered_ them all,” her eyes flashed with repressed rage. “And enjoyed it.”

“You’re a disgrace, Hans, and you know it,” she smiled blandly. “Or should I say… _Finn_?”

His eyes widened briefly before he let out a howl of rage, and charged.

“Pathetic.”

Her voice rang out in boredom and utter disdain as she ducked under his rage-fuelled swing and slammed her blade into his chest.

Smug satisfaction surged through her veins as she watched him topple onto the ground, blood pooling around him with Ganglari through his heart. Speaking of which, mulled the dragon princess, the sword needed to be disposed of. It couldn’t be left anywhere, seeing the destructive power it held when it had been activated in the Hoshido market.

Should she risk the Ganglari, letting it be returned to the castle or try to permanently get rid of it?

Decisions, decisions.

“Why?”

Snapping back to reality, the princess turned to see a still wary, but confused Hoshidan commander.

“Because it’s the right thing to do,” shrugged Rena, settling for the truth somewhat. Naga knew where Iago and Anankos had ears. “You should evacuate. Someone will be here to check this place eventually and they won’t be as nice as I am.”

The commander eyed her for a moment, studying her for any hint of deception.

“Look, if you really doubt me, you can check it for yourself. But - ”

“Fine,” the blue-haired commander curtly spoke. “But only for my people. If I find out that this is a lie…” he trailed off warningly.

“I expect no less,” acknowledged Rena calmly, ignoring Jakob and Gunter tensing their shoulders.

Was that a hint of respect in his eyes?

“One more thing, if you don’t mind,” Rena said. “Tell Kaze this: the caterpillar has become a butterfly.”

He raised an eyebrow but merely nodded as he turned back to his troops.

Moments later, they were gone.

“Lady Rena,” said Gunter, drawing her attention. “Would you mind giving an explanation?”

* * *

Swearing him to secrecy, the dragon princess settled for a variation of the truth – that she had overheard Hans and her, ah, father talking about having her killed for an unknown reason (well, more like witnessed it in one of her previous lives) and took a look at his records. Sure enough, he wouldn’t have had any qualms about killing her.

“So what you said - ” Gunter said.

“Was true, yes,” nodded the princess. “Hoshidans, Nohrians…he simply enjoys killing.” She shook her head in disgust. “He was also responsible for some of the children being beat up in the capital. Quite a few of them had been in need of medical services.”

…Perhaps she shouldn’t have mentioned that.

If looks could kill, Hans would have been dead a thousand times over.

 _That_ was how mad both Jakob and Gunter were.

She cleared her throat, “Come on, we don’t have much time.”

Controlling their rage, the two nodded.

After making the “battlefield” look more like a battlefield (thank you, Odin for your crazy experiments and imparting your knowledge) with the help of Odin’s experiments, Dragon Veins and some magic, they were almost done.

“Lilith,” the girl called.

The blue Astral Dragon appeared in a small whirl of wind.

“Yes, mistress?”

“Could you please get rid of this?” Rena gestured towards the Ganglari blade in her hand. The princess did _not_ want it to fall into the wrong hands, nor any of her Nohrian family’s lest it was activated.

“With pleasure,” nodded the dragon as she wrinkled her nose in distaste at seeing the blade. The dragon could _feel_ the evil radiating off it, the destruction it held… Nevertheless, while it was a rare weapon, it was still made by mortals. “If you could just throw it down, I will take care of it. And please distance yourselves.”

They did as she said, backing away once the blade was thrown.

_BOOM!_

And then there was silence.

Rena couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief and grim satisfaction.

There wouldn’t be any explosions in Hoshido, now.

Now, to find a place to camp and then meet up with Kaze.

* * *

**Two days later in Nohr...**

_"What?!”_

It was as if the breath had been knocked out of him. It couldn’t be… She couldn’t have…

He had sent a scouting party to look for her after there was no word. The party had only just returned.

The captain almost took a step back at the sight of the uncharacteristic reaction from the crown prince but straightened his back gamely. It was unbecoming of a Nohrian soldier, much less a captain to show fear. He took a deep breath.

“I’m afraid so, sir. The area was reported to be a battlefield. Hans, the mercenary given to protect her is dead. There are no signs of the princess and the rest of her party.”

The soldier hesitated, but continued, “…However, pieces of her blade were found. They were covered in blood.”

Xander nearly staggered back in shock, the blow of the statement hitting hard. It was as if someone had a vice around his heart, squeezing it and refusing to let go.

How was he going to break this to Camilla and the others? Gods, Elise was going to be devastated.

He was supposed to be the older brother, their protector.

And he had failed.

Rationally, he knew that he wasn’t responsible for this – that it was possible that she was still alive.

But the chances were slim, if not there at all.

“Dismissed.”

The word echoed hollowly in the room. Relieved, the soldier nodded and left as quickly as protocol allowed, leaving the crown prince to his thoughts.

Xander took the pendant out from under his armour.

Her last gift.

“Little princess…”

* * *

**With Rena...**

The party had managed to get themselves to Izumo and settle there for the night. Rena had received a message from Kaze that they would meet at a valley settlement in Hoshido, which was fine with her seeing as she needed to warn them anyway. Not to mention, with Garon out for her head, it wasn't as if she was safe in Nohr.

It had taken them until evening to reach the settlement, meeting up with Kaze and Rinkah by crossing the Nohrian border to Hoshido.

There, they had explained their situation: that Hans had been ordered to kill her on the orders of her father so she fled. And now, they were seeking sanctuary elsewhere as well as means to end the war between the two kingdoms. There had been skepticism at first, but when she had called Lilith (much to their shock – it had taken another round of explanations) to confirm the facts, they had believed her.

The word of an Astral Dragon weighed a lot, after all.

Rooms had then been assigned to them for the night before they started off to the Hoshidan capital tomorrow. Rena had requested Jakob for some time alone – she needed to think. Giving her an understanding look, he had acquiesced and wished her good night before disappearing to his own quarters.

Now, the dragon princess lay on her back, staring at the ceiling.

Her mind couldn’t help but drift towards her family in Nohr.

She missed them.


	2. Hoshido

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY. This chapter is completed after my (ridiculous) muse skiving off to other fandoms for a year-ish.. Jeez. This was a pain to write. Hope you enjoy this.

When they heard the news, each of their reactions differed.

Leo stormed off to the library and camped there, refusing to leave. Niles and Odin had to force the stubborn prince to eat and attend meetings as well as perform missions for the ruthless king who they knew would have no qualms about killing their liege if he didn’t perform his duties. Elise had broken down in tears as Camilla tried to comfort her, none of her usual playful façade showing as she tried to be strong.

As for himself…

Xander stared at himself in the mirror, taking in his tired and worn-out appearance. The signs were of course subtle – he _was_ the crown prince, after all, but by the gods, was he exhausted. Contrary to popular belief, Xander was _not_ invincible as much as he wished it so.

Sighing, the blonde took out the pendant and turned it over in his hand absentmindedly as his mind drifted towards Rena, wondering and hoping that she was alive.

Something niggled at the corner of his mind and he paused, feeling as if he had forgotten something.

A frown crossed his face as he attempted to figure out what it was.

_“Trust me…”_

No, it was...it was after that.

_“I have some things for the others as well…”_

It was close.

_“The place where the stars are.”_

The words drifted into his mind then, taking root and becoming the centerfold of his thoughts.

Her gifts.

Stowing the pendant safely back under his attire, renewed with purpose, the prince strode out of the room.

He needed a horse.

**XXXXXXXX**

**Meanwhile in Hoshido...**

They had gotten up slightly before dawn to recheck their supplies and have a quick meal before leaving straight for the palace. While she would have liked to enjoy immersing herself in Hoshido and visit the sights, this was more important. It had been several hours since then and they were now in the audience chamber, waiting for Queen Mikoto to arrive.

“Lady Mikoto,” greeted Kaze as he dropped onto the floor into a kneeling position, folding an arm across his chest in respect as she entered the room.

Rena inhaled sharply as her gaze followed her mother, drinking in the sight of her _alive and whole_.

“You may rise, Kaze,” acknowledged Mikoto with a gentle smile, her hands clasped in front of her waist.

The ninja seemingly flowed to his feet as he rose, smoothly and silently.

Mikoto then turned her attention onto the trio behind the ninja.

“May I know the names of your companions?” inquired the queen warmly.

“My apologies for our lateness, Mother,” announced a tall, red armour-clad man followed by three other figures – a boyish-looking redhead, a disgruntled pony-tailed male and a delicately-featured pink-haired girl as they entered the room. “Azura is currently unwell. She will join us tomorrow,” added the man.

From her ‘memories’, Rena knew that they were Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura. It was amazing how different they were though – their features free from the toll of war and death and blood.

War was impending, but she could damn well minimise the consequences.

She resisted the urge to run and hug them all, especially Ryoma and Takumi.

Her…Hoshidan counterpart had married the archer in her timeline. Seeing Anankos possessing him in the timeline where she had sided with Nohr had been difficult, to say the least. She wanted to laugh _and_ cry.

Guilt squeezed at her heart as her gaze then shifted to Ryoma. The girl desperately wanted to apologize, to let go and cry and let Ryoma handle everything –

But they didn’t know her, and she them.

Not here.

When the last of them had filed themselves beside and around Mikoto, the queen looked at the ninja curiously, “It is rare of you to request an audience, Kaze. Much less with all of us.”

The green-haired ninja bowed his head slightly, “Indeed. However, in this case, I believed it to be necessary.” He stepped aside, nodding at Rena who dipped her head in acknowledgement as she took a step forwards.

Taking a deep breath, the dragon princess pulled off the hat and shook out the white tresses, letting them fall over her shoulder.

“Hello.”

* * *

 Ryoma was the first to speak.

“…Rena?” the crown prince of Hoshido breathed out as he hesitantly stepped forward.

The lost princess smiled tremulously, uncertain of what she should do.

“Hi.”

She soon found herself engulfed in a hug by Lady Mikoto who only let her go after a long moment, tears in her eyes. After that was Hinoka, then Ryoma – and it suddenly became a group hug, Takumi and Sakura being dragged into it.

Suffice to say, it was quite awhile before things settled down.

“Well,” Mikoto spoke, clasping a hand on her returned child’s shoulder. “It seems that we have much to discuss. Shall we adjourn to one of the tea rooms?”

They readjourned in a more informal room as Mikoto requested for some light refreshments to be sent over while they gradually recovered their composure at the discovery of their lost family member.

“Let me introduce you to them,” Rena said as she gestured towards the ash-haired man sitting on her right. “This is Jakob. He is my butler and has been one of my closest companions since I was a child.”

“You give me too much credit, Milady,” protested Jakob mildly before shifting his gaze towards the Hoshidans. “Pleased to be of service.”

The girl rolled her eyes as she then gestured towards Gunter who dipped his head in greeting, “And this is Gunter, my mentor. Don’t let his appearance fool you. He’s a slave-driver.”

“I had no idea that you thought so highly of me, Milady,” said the Great Knight dryly. “I shall strive to live up to your expectations. I assume that we shall be having our usual training session tomorrow morning.”

“…Can I take it back?”

“No.”

Mentally resigning herself to her fate, she also did the only thing she could.

She blamed the lack of sleep.

Amusement of varying ranges made itself known around the room at the small exchange. Mikoto proceeded to introduce the rest then – Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura.

“As amusing as it is,” began Ryoma. “How did Kaze find you? Or were you the one who found him?”

“If I may, Milord?” interjected the green-haired ninja politely.

Ryoma nodded.

“As you know, I was captured along with Rinkah of the Flame Tribe,” started Kaze on the tale as their attention focused on him. “The two of us, and the rest of our party were taken to a castle.”

Rena nodded as she confirmed the fact, “Castle Krakenburg.”

“That was when we first encountered each other,” Kaze continued. “I confess, I did not recognize her immediately. It took me a moment to realize. King Garon then ordered her to fight us.”

All eyes were on them as the story unfolded.

“It was a test of my abilities,” she explained, running fingers through her hair. “I beat them, with Jakob and Gunter. And then…he told me to execute them.”

It was so silent that if a pin dropped, it would have been heard.

“I didn’t want to, of course,” said Rena, remembering the emotional turmoil then. “But if I didn’t,” she smiled bitterly. “He’d kill me.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” pointed out Takumi unexpectedly with a frown. “Why would he? You’re his child.”

The smile turned bittersweet, with a touch of sadness.

“You have to understand,” said Rena as she fixed her gaze on Takumi. “He doesn’t see people as people. He sees all of us, his children or not… as pawns, pieces to use and dispose as he sees fit. It’s either you’re useful, or you’re not. He wanted to see if the time he invested me was worth it, to see if I was a worthy investment.”

“To him, his word is law.”

Silence.

“I argued with him, knowing the risk I was taking but I couldn’t not try,” spoke Rena quietly as she sighed. “But it was futile, of course. Xander and the others even interjected on my behalf, knowing the risk they were taking with me. For me.”

“What do you mean?” Takumi asked at last, after a moment of silence.

“What I mean is - ” she swallowed as she tried to get the words out.

But Jakob beat her to it, exchanging a look with Gunter who nodded and uncharacteristically, placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

“What she means is that he would have no qualms about killing or having any, if not all of them killed.”

* * *

It was rare that the prince dearly wanted to hurt someone, but the Nohrian king just made the first cut.

From what he was seeing, it was clear that it was a well-known fact to them. If the king dared to venture on this extreme side of the spectrum, it would mean that some of the Nohrians may have had their hands forced.

And what of the Nohrian citizens themselves? Just how many had been put into similar situations?

Ryoma made a mental note to look into the situation.

* * *

This was beyond what he was expecting.

A king that would kill his own children? And blackmail them, even?

Takumi shook his head in disgust.

* * *

Gods, did she want to punch the Nohrian king’s face.

Feeling a burst of pain, Hinoka looked down to see that her fingers digging into her palms. Letting a short exhale, the red-haired princess slowly uncurled them.

It would do her no good for her temper to rise now.

She stole a look at Sakura whose complexion had paled upon the statement, a hand clasped to her mouth as she stared at Rena in horrified shock. The Pegasus knight reached over to squeeze her free hand in reassurance, calming her down.

* * *

Taking a deep, shuddering breath and ignoring the prickling of tears behind her eyes, Rena automatically leaned into her surrogate father’s familiar warmth, uncaring of the sight she made and ignoring the horrified shock from the rest of the room. Jakob, despite his calm composure, hovered over protectively. Reaching out to reassure him that she was fine, Rena took ahold of his hand and squeezed it lightly – his gaze shifting towards her in concern.

_I’ll be fine._

Seeing his concern easing slightly, she gave him a brief smile. It was a moment before she finally spoke again, breaking the lull, “Leo took things into his own hands then, and ‘killed’ them with magic. On the night that they were to escape, we met up – with Xander and Leo’s help and Kaze let slip about my resemblance.”

“I did some digging, corresponded with Kaze, and, well…” shrugged the girl. “Which brings me to a request – the three of us require sanctuary.”

“Whatever for?” inquired Mikoto, who, despite her calm façade, was inwardly a bundle of emotional turmoil.

“The short version?” A rueful smile crossed her face as she proceeded to finish off the last of her tea, “He wants me dead.”

Dear Gods, what had her daughter gotten herself into?

The queen sighed, but her resolve hardened.

“Of course. But first, let us first retire for the night. It is late. We will continue this discussion tomorrow,” firmly said Mikoto with a glance at the clock.

No one disagreed.

* * *

_Deaddeaddeadohgodtheywerealldead._

_Xander. Elise. Ryoma. Takumi._

_Blood. Pain. Death._

_The pain wasn’t stopping._

_Why wasn’t it stopping?_

Rena jerked awake, clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle a cry – her heart hammering furiously in her chest. Willing herself to take deep breaths and slowly counting from one to ten, the girl calmed herself before letting out a resigned sigh. It seemed that the sight of seeing them well and truly alive had triggered the memories that she had locked away in her mind.

Giving up on sleep, she got up from the bed.

Might as well get ready for the training session with Gunter.

* * *

The crown prince of Hoshido was on his way back from his meditation exercises and katas when the sound of clashing blades drew his attention.

“Too slow,” reprimanded an unfamiliar voice.

It sounded like one of their guests from the night before.

Curious, Ryoma followed the voice to see the Nohrian Great Knight from yesterday sparring with his newly found sister in one of the training grounds.

“Your opponents will not be that merciful, milady,” chastised the grey-haired man. “Again.” Immediately striking afterwards.

Her gaze was sharp and focused as she twisted her body, dodging the incoming strike from the sword that the knight was wielding and slammed her blade forwards. Only to be smoothly parried as he spun his in a reverse grip to strike.

What followed was a series of lightning-quick strikes and a flurry of blows that seemed to be effortlessly exchanged.

“Better,” praised the knight in satisfaction. “We will stop here for now. Ten minutes. After that, we will resume. You will spar with Jakob.”

His sister nodded and sheathed her sword, making her way over to the ash-haired man who had refreshments ready.

“Ready to lose, Jakob?” grinned Rena as she grabbed a drink.

A mildly amused expression crossed the butler’s face as he responded, “You may try, Milady. You may try. On the other hand, I believe we have some company.”

The princess looked around briefly in puzzlement. Upon seeing him, a smile flashed across her face as she crossed over, drink still in hand. She looked a far cry from the brief glimpse of the subdued version of her that he had seen the night before.

“Morning. Here to train too?” asked Rena before taking a sip of her drink.

“Good morning, sister,” Ryoma returned with a smile of his own. “Not at the moment. I’ve simply completed my meditation exercises and morning practice. I will be training with my retainers later.”

Her eyes lit up with interest as she asked, “What weapon do you use?”

“A sword,” he motioned towards where the Raijinto lay sheathed. “To be more precise, I am a Swordmaster.”

She hesitated for a moment.

“What is it?” inquired Ryoma gently, seeing the uncertainty in her body language. He couldn’t help but curse the Nohrian king inwardly. From what she had said yesterday – as little as it was – regarding the caustic, casual command to kill _as a test of abilities_ – it was clear that her childhood hadn’t been much of one.

Finally, Rena spoke.

“Would you...want to spar? I mean, not now, seeing as I’ve to complete this session. But when we’ve time,” she tacked on the last part hastily.

Ryoma blinked in surprise at her request. He would have thought that she’d blame him for failing, for not trying hard enough to get her back.

Seeing that she was waiting for his reply, he smiled. A genuine, full-blown smile that hadn’t been seen ever since she had been kidnapped.

“I would be honoured.”

Her face brightened.

**XXXXXXXX**

**With Xander…**

It was impossible, but there it was.

There, in his hands, was a letter from Rena.

Rena, who was supposed to be dead. Or currently presumed dead, according to their father as there had been no results of her being alive. Though, what had angered and infuriated the crown prince, as well as Elise and the others was that he didn’t even bother try to look for her.

But there was no doubt about it; it was her script – simple and elegant as she had been taught to. No one else could forge her handwriting as no one else besides the royal family and the staff at the castle knew of her existence.

The message read:

_Dear Xander,_

_You must be wondering if I am real right now. Yes, I am alive. No, you **absolutely** **cannot** tell anyone, not even Leo, Camilla or Elise. Do **not** search for me. If you do, lives will be lost._

What? Lives lost? What had she gotten herself into?

_Hans tried to kill Jakob and I that night in the Bottomless Canyon -_

The crown prince stiffened as disbelief shot through him and anger bubbled up in his chest. The sound of crinkling paper brought him to realization as he saw that he had nearly tore the paper in his rage. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he continued to read.

_\- on the orders of our Father. Why, I do not know. You can see why I chose to run._

_I will meet with you if I can._

_With all my love,_

_Rena_

_P/S: Destroy this letter once you’ve seen it._

Clever girl.

Three weeks.

He would get his answer in three weeks.

It seems that he had preparations to make.

* * *

Leo stared at the letter in his hand – the letter that had been indirectly passed to him by Xander through his retainers. His mind was racing with information as he resisted the urge to burn certain people into their graves. And look into necromancy into bringing them alive again so he could do it again.

Steeling himself, the male took a deep breath and called for Niles and Odin.

* * *

For once, a serious expression was donned by the purple-haired princess of Nohr as she read through the letter’s contents.

For her sister, she would not fail.


End file.
